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American vehicle safety authorities have started an investigation into Tesla cars equipped with the full self-driving technology due to safety regulation breaches following numerous accidents.

Regulatory Body Identifies Traffic Law Breaches

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared that the electric carmaker's autonomous driving feature, which demands motorists to remain attentive and take control when necessary, had “induced vehicle behaviour that breached road safety regulations”.

This initial assessment by the NHTSA marks the first step before possibly seeking a withdrawal of the vehicles if the agency concludes they pose a risk to public safety.

Alarming Incident Reports

The regulatory body reported it had received accounts of nearly 3 million Tesla vehicles running red traffic lights and traveling against the wrong way during lane switching while using the technology.

NHTSA confirmed it has six reports in which a Tesla car, operating with full self-driving activated, “came to an intersection with a red traffic signal, proceeded to drive into the intersection against the red light and was later part of a collision with other motor vehicles in the intersection”.

The authority reported that four accidents had caused one or more injuries.

Further Safety Concerns

The NHTSA announced it has identified 18 complaints and one media report claiming that Tesla vehicles, driving through an junction with FSD engaged, did not stay stopped for the entire time of a red light, did not come to complete stop, or did not properly recognize and show the proper traffic signal state in the car's display”.

Some complainants also claimed that FSD “failed to give warnings of the technology's intended actions as the vehicle was coming to a red light”.

Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny

Tesla's FSD, which is more sophisticated than its basic autopilot feature, has been being examined by NHTSA for twelve months.

In October 2024, the agency began an inquiry into over two million Tesla vehicles using FSD after four documented crashes in conditions of reduced visibility, such as sun glare, fog or dust clouds. One of these collisions, in 2023, was deadly.

Company's Official Stance

Tesla's website states that FSD is “designed for operation by a fully attentive motorist, who has their hands on the wheel and is ready to assume control at any time. While these capabilities are designed to improve over time, the currently enabled features do not render the vehicle self-driving.”

Automated car systems continue to face growing examination from safety agencies as the systems develop and real-world testing reveals potential challenges with existing deployments.